Rams return from bye to face ‘wide-open’ playoff race

Sean McVay, whose thought of getting distant from enactment is antithetic from astir people’s, couldn’t support his caput disconnected of shot during the Rams’ bye week.

“I loved being capable to ticker each the games yesterday,” McVay said Monday arsenic the Rams began mentation for their crippled against the Packers successful Green Bay this weekend.

On his couch, the manager mightiness person recovered comfortableness successful noticing that the Rams aren’t the lone Super Bowl contender going done a unsmooth stretch.

For the Rams (7-3), mistake-riddled losses to the Tennessee Titans and San Francisco 49ers near them 1½ games down the NFC West-leading Arizona Cardinals heading into the bye.

Around the league, Weeks 9, 10 and 11 saw part leaders spell 10-12 and preseason part favorites spell 12-12. The 11 losses by part leaders to teams astatine .500 oregon worse the past 3 weeks were the astir astatine this signifier of a play since 1970. All of those numbers see the NFC North-leading Packers (8-3), who person dropped 2 of their past three.

(This was written earlier Monday’s crippled betwixt the NFC South-leading Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the New York Giants, 30-10.)

“This is arsenic wide-open, and you’re seeing arsenic overmuch of this parity exist, (as it has been) since I’ve been coaching,” said McVay, who started successful the NFL successful 2008. “I deliberation that’s what makes the NFL exciting.

“But that’s besides what makes it that overmuch much important to beryllium urgent each azygous time successful however we attack our process, our rhythm, our routine.”

The Rams statesman the seven-week regular-season agelong tally hoping part leaders proceed their caller struggles, astatine slightest unless they ascent into archetypal spot astatine immoderate point.

Their remaining opponents see 3 existent part leaders, the Packers, Cardinals and Baltimore Ravens. The Rams person 1 much crippled near than the Cardinals, and a triumph astatine Arizona connected Dec. 13 could get L.A. level connected wide wins and losses and the head-to-head tiebreaker. But the Rams would inactive way successful the part grounds and communal hostile tiebreakers unless the Cardinals stumbled against different teams.

The Rams indispensable find a mode to triumph the part to person immoderate accidental astatine a home-field playoff way to the Feb. 13 Super Bowl astatine SoFi Stadium.

McVay, whose bye week did see immoderate remainder and clip with his fiancee, analyzed the Rams’ archetypal 10 games and came up with a cardinal stat.

“For us, we haven’t done a bully capable occupation these past mates of weeks of winning the turnover battle,” McVay said. “For our shot team, erstwhile we’re successful the positive oregon even, we’re 7-0. The 3 games we’ve lost, we (lost) the turnover battle.”

That’s true. The Rams had a Matthew Stafford interception and a Sony Michel fumble against the Cardinals and 2 game-changing Stafford interceptions each against the Titans and 49ers. Their defense’s lone takeaway was Jalen Ramsey’s interception of a Ryan Tannehill walk aboriginal successful the Tennessee game.

Facing the Packers, among the leaders successful turnover differential, is either conscionable what the Rams don’t need or a accidental to hole that problem.

“I deliberation it’s a bully happening that we’ve kept ourselves applicable aft 10 games,” McVay said Monday, summing up the play truthful far. “But the lone happening that truly matters for america is coming backmost aft this bye and doing a large occupation this week of putting unneurotic bully plans, putting our players successful the close spots, and past them going retired and executing.

“I don’t privation to get up of ourselves to things we can’t control.”

HEALTH DEPARTMENT

McVay said extracurricular linebacker Leonard Floyd suffered a concussion successful the 49ers game, had symptoms concisely and mightiness beryllium constricted successful signifier this week.

“He’s feeling good, and (I) expect him to beryllium acceptable to rotation against the Packers,” McVay said of Floyd, who leads the Rams with 7½ sacks.

Outside linebacker Justin Hollins, connected injured reserve the past 7 games with a pectoral musculus tear, is astir a week distant from returning to signifier and starting the 21-day play successful which helium could beryllium activated.

“We’re not going to unreserved him,” McVay said, adding that extent astatine the presumption “does springiness you a luxury to beryllium a small spot much patient.”

NOTES

The Packers were favored implicit the Rams by 1 constituent arsenic the week began. This would beryllium the archetypal clip the Rams are underdogs this season; their 34-24 triumph implicit the Buccaneers successful Week 3 closed arsenic pick-’em, according to Vegas Insider. The Rams were seven-point underdogs astatine Green Bay going into their 32-18 playoff nonaccomplishment past January.